In a bid to save lives and reduce the fear factor preventing people from taking to two wheels, Bristol is to announce radical new proposals which will make it Britain’s first city to adopt a truly Dutch-style network of cycle lanes.

Already the UK’s top cycling city with an estimated 16,000 regular cyclists, the 100 miles of cycle paths are due to be operational as soon as Spring 2014!

In contrast to this fantastic news, the national picture is comparatively bleak. With cycle uptake ever on the increase, the number of cyclists killed or injured on Britain’s roads is at its highest for three years: 118 deaths and 3,222 injuries recorded in 2012. Although these figures represent regrettable injuries and tragic loss of life, statistics like these are what motivated the Dutch to unite as a nation and demand the changes that led to their precedent-setting infrastructure.

STOP KINDERMOORD – The famous culture-shifting ‘stop child-murder’ campaign that followed years of rising deaths on the roads.The Dutch made their voices heard through dramatic protests, like this one on the museumplein.

In other (related) news, a new peer-reviewed study has revealed that financial investment in cycling infrastructure can increase the share of journeys taken by bike. This might seem like the predictable answer to another do-bears-poop-in-the-woods sort of question, but it’s not always cut-and-dried that spending to achieve a goal actually works. Look at roadbuilding, for instance: billions of pounds are pumped into constructing new roads in order to reduce congestion, yet congestion keeps on increasing.

Ridiculous, unnecessary, and obvious as it seems, it’s still good press. Click here for the Guardian article.

it’s true, British cycling infrastructure sometimes leaves a lot to be desired…